Name a Species

Maybe a squiggly-wiggly, or a fishamazoo? This newly-discovered species needs a name, and you can choose it, for a price.

As a fundraising venture, Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego is inviting donors to name new species.

Every year the institution's researchers discover new species of marine creatures from deep within the vast global oceans. Some specimens set new records, such as the stout infantfish (Schindleria brevipinguis), co-described by Scripps as the world's smallest fish in 2004.

Traditionally, the person who first describes a newfound plant or animal is entitled to name it, but now, Scripps is inviting the public to share in the process by naming select newly discovered species acquired by the institution. The names can be selected by a donor for his or herself, or a friend or family member, and are then introduced in scientific publications that establish the new species name permanently.

Currently, the Scripps Oceanographic Collections hold several new marine species that are available for naming. They include a rare hydrothermal vent worm ($50,000), two types of worms found living on deep-sea whale bones ($25,000), an orange, speckled nudibranch ($15,000), and a spiny worm found in the kelp forests of La Jolla cove( $10,000). Several fishes from the Gulf of California as well as several new species discovered in local La Jolla waters are also available to be named.

The cost to name Scripps' newly discovered creatures starts at $5,000. Donors who name a species will receive a framed print of their named organism, as well as a copy of the scientific publication in which it is first described.

Funds raised through the new naming opportunity will be used to help maintain and build upon the Scripps Oceanographic Collections for future generations of scientists.

-- LiveScience Staff

Image Gallery: Freaky Fish

VIDEO: See the Catfish Hunt on Land

VOTE! The World's Ugliest Animals

 Image Credit: Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego